UP: Mosque demolished in Meerut to make way for RRTS Corridor
UP: Mosque demolished in Meerut to make way for RRTS Corridor
M.U.H
23/02/202517
A decades-old mosque located on Delhi Road in Meerut was demolished to make way for the construction of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor.
The demolition was carried out with the consent of the local Muslim community after consultations with officials and the mosque’s management, officials said.
According to authorities, the mosque was causing obstruction in the progress of the Rapid Rail project, prompting the decision to remove it.
The process began with members of the Muslim community using hammers to dismantle parts of the mosque on Thursday. Later, when most of the structure had been taken down, the administration used a bulldozer to complete the demolition in the late hours of the night. The debris was also cleared during this time.
In a statement to PTI, Additional District Magistrate (City) Brijesh Kumar Singh confirmed that the mosque’s removal was carried out with mutual agreement.
“The Muslim community took the initiative in removing the mosque, and I facilitated discussions with them, alongside officials from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). However, the removal was done only with the consent of the Muslim community,” Singh said.
Haji Swale Heen, a representative from the mosque, said, “We removed the mosque on our own, but we possess documents from 1857 that prove the historicity of this mosque.” When asked about the mosque’s age, Singh mentioned that there were varying opinions among locals, with some claiming it was around 80 years old and others saying it could be as old as 168 years.
On the matter of relocating the mosque, Singh clarified that no alternative land has been provided to the community and no such request was made by them.
